A great lineup is in store for this season

Much like a broken string, an improvised drum fill or the impulsive stage dive, weather brings an unexpected ingredient to live music. Rain, wind, mud, snow, relentless heat or cold — even clear skies can define the art. Performers and crowds adapt to unexpected forces, and it becomes a unique shared experience. The sun setting during an acoustic ballad, the rain drenching a sweaty dance party, these aren't staged theatrics — they're real.

Summer is a return to this natural element of music. And in Colorado, fans emerge from the dim rock clubs and artificially lit arenas to see musicians on the plains, against skylines, in forests, below mountain ranges and between great monoliths. To help you navigate the next few months of live music, we give you our guide to concerts and festivals across Colorado this season. — Matt Miller, The Denver Post

Missy Franklin, Jenny Simpson, Adeline Gray and three other Colorado women could be big players at the 2016 Rio OlympicsWhen people ask Missy Franklin for her thoughts about the Summer Olympics that will begin a year from Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, she hangs a warning label on her answer.